The modern day wet-nurse on the rise in the UK

Getty Images

It’s often seen as the most intimate and treasured act between a mother and her child, but an increasing number of mums are seeking out other women to breastfeed their babies after finding they are unable to produce their own milk.

In the UK, mothers are under more pressure to provide their child with breast milk any way they can, as the breast-is-best lobby and the NHS heavily promote the ideal that all new mothers should breastfeed for at least six months.

Supporting the trend is global online milk-sharing network, Human Milk 4 Human babies, which is active in more than fifty countries across the globe, including Australia and New Zealand. The organisation brings together lactating mums who have a surplus of milk with mums who can’t feed their own babies and they identify the UK as their most active network.

Related: Breastmilk supply and demand: your questions answered

Natasha Batsford is one UK woman who found herself seeking alternatives to breastfeeding after suffering health complications during the birth of her daughter Esme. With one month old Esme losing weight and Natasha not wanting to formula feed, her friend Cat offered to act as wet nurse to Esme.

Natasha says she did not feel any jealousy towards Cat or that her bond with Esme was weakened. Cat continued to breastfeed Esme daily for the next six weeks and Natasha supplemented her diet with donated milk from a stranger she found on Facebook.

Related: Ten tips for formula feeding your baby

And while wet-nursing has been practiced for hundreds of years, some health experts say there are a number of emotional, practical and health reasons why it is not safe.

Clare Byam Cook, author of What to Expect when You’re Breast-Feeding … And What if You Can’t? told the Daily Mail ‘If you live in a developing country where there is no safe alternative to breast milk it’s the perfect solution, but in Britain formula milk is so sophisticated that it really is a very safe alternative”.

Mrs Byam Cook added that mums who use a wet-nurse miss out on an intimate bonding time with their child, and feels there is an unnecessary amount of pressure on new mums to breastfeed, leaving mums feeling inadequate.

There is also concern from health experts over the risk of infection and passing on medications from a wet-nurse or unknown donor.

Related: Bottle feeding tips for your baby